Fast Updates:
Wishing you all a safe and happy August!
We met some awesome creative folks and had a blast at the event we participated in during the month of July. I am really looking forward to our upcoming conventions!
Added Events: Five new Quad Cons have been added, as well as Peoriacon 2025!
ISBN: 9798333906625
I have created a limited edition release titled – Trio Of Tales: Horror Con 2024. This work will only be available in paperback format at the horror conventions which I am participating in this year and is meant as a teaser for the newest short story collection I am working on. It contains several illustrations as well as three short story’s: one dark fantasy, one folk Horror, and one apocalyptic horror.
I have added a review page for Resist: A Blood Inheritance novel. You can access it here: Reviews – Resist
From August 16th through the 23rd the kindle edition of The Blood Inheritance Novels Series Two-Book Set: Rise and Lost will be 0.99! This limited time sale is available on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.
Also:
readersfavorite.com will have three of my available books listed as prizes in the monthly book giveaway. If you are interested in winning some amazing books by great authors you can check out the monthly giveaway here: book giveaway /Rise or here for The Warning Signs: giveaway/the-warning-signs and here: book-giveaway/combo.
Upcoming Event Reminders:
2024
We are scheduled to participate at the DarkHistory & Horror Convention. The con this year will be August 31st -September 1st, at the Orpheum theater in Champaign, IL.
Concealed Realms plans to participate at the inaugural horror fiesta in Peoria IL on September 14th. This event is set to take place at the exposition gardens opera house
We plan to participate at the Brookfield Quad Con on October 12th and 13th! This event will take place at the Brookfield Square Mall.
.We are scheduled to participate in the Lafayette Comic Con, Mighty Con on October 26th. This event takes place at the Tippecanoe County Fairgrounds, located in Lafayette, IN
On November 2nd and 3rd, we plan to participate at the Peoria, IL Quad Con! This event is set to take place at the Northwoods Mall.
On November 23rd and 24th, Concealed Realms plans to participate at the Madison WI East Towne Mall Quad Con.
Concealed Realms plans to return to the Davenport Northpark Mall for Quad Con. The event is set to take place on December 7th and 8th..
We plan to participate at the Des Moines Quad Con! This event is set to take place at the Merle Hay Mall on December 14th and 15th.
2025
We are planning to return to Peoriacon! This event is scheduled to take place at the Peoria Civic Center on March 29th and 30th.
Quotes Relating to Mushrooms
“The mushroom is the elf of plants, at once magical and mysterious.” – George Carlin
“Mushrooms have a long and fascinating history.” – Paul Stamets
“Can you understand your own dreams, which arise with mushrooms’ rank richness in the night-forests within your skull?” – William T. Vollmann
“Advice is like mushrooms. The wrong kind can prove fatal.” – Charles E. McKenzie
“Nature alone is antique, and the oldest art a mushroom.” -Thomas Carlyle, Sartor Resartus
“I’ve always thought fairies are like mushrooms, you trip over them when you’re not thinking about them, but they’re hard to spot when you’re searching for them.”- Jo Walton
“Mushrooms were the roses in the garden of that unseen world, because the real mushroom plant was underground. The parts you could see – what most people called a mushroom – was just a brief apparition. A cloud flower.” – Margaret Atwood, The Year of the Flood
“Literature is a vast forest, and the masterpieces are the lakes, the towering trees or strange trees, the lovely, eloquent flowers, the hidden caves, but a forest is also made up of ordinary trees, patches of grass, puddles, clinging vines, mushrooms, and little wildflowers.”-Roberto Bolano
“Mushrooms are a gateway to understanding the complexity and interconnectedness of nature.” – Paul Stamets.
“I love mushrooms. They are like miniature umbrellas for fairies.” – Anonymous
Definition of : Mushroom
Dictionary.com
Noun
A: “any of various fleshy fungi including the toadstools, puffballs, coral fungi, morels, etc.”
B: “any of several edible species, especially of the family Agaricaceae, as Agaricus campestris meadow mushroom, or field mushroom, cultivated for food in the U.S.”
C: “anything of similar shape or correspondingly rapid growth.” – www.dictionary.com
Merriam Webster.com
Noun
A: “an enlarged complex aboveground fleshy fruiting body of a fungus (such as a
basidiomycete) that consists typically of a stem bearing a pileus” – merriamwebster.com
Fungi
Last August’s creativity post centered on a Mushroom project for my garden. Since then, I have been looking forward to taking a deeper dive into the roles of Mushrooms in Folklore and Mythology. As such, in this post I will share some information and excerpts from my work regarding the mushroom-like creatures that reside in the fictional world of Sumir, touch base on mushrooms in general, then take a brief look at mushrooms in folklore and legend.
In The Blood Inheritance Quartet:
The plants , animals , and other creatures in the realms of Sumir play important roles in my series “The Blood Inheritance Quartet” as well as the short stories associated with the world. These fictitious components are often inspired by real world elements. The mushroom-like creations that appear throughout my writing are one such concept. More plantlike than fungal, these “mushrooms” thrive in the Chaos realm. They hold various similarities to common fungi as well as known carnivorous plants.
The caps are creme colored with large bright spots. They rest, protruding just above the ground, with their “stalks” hidden from view. They have thick vine like appendages that snake above and below the topsoil, remaining still until disturbed. In the image below, you can read two brief excerpts from “Endow” regarding an encounter with one of these “mushrooms”.
Mushroom Facts:
Scientist have uncovered evidence that mushrooms have been around for millions of years, and it is suggested that their consumption for nutritional and medicinal purposes is likely as old as the history of food collection.
Mushrooms belong in the kingdom Fungi. They are reported as having a plantlike form. According to NPS.GOV, “Well over 14,000 species of mushroom-producing fungi have been described, and that is likely only a fraction of the species that exist.”
Their appearance varies greatly in both size and shape, although most mushrooms have a cap (the flower or fruit of the fungi, which is the reproductive part that disperses spores) and a stalk which connects to the mycelium( threads that connect to the underground body of the fungus).
The coloration of these fungi spans an impressive range from eye catching and vibrant, to subtle and earthy. Oftentimes a close inspection will reveal a dramatic pattern of hues and shades the likes of which could rival the most striking flowers, although you should always use caution in regard to their collection, as mushrooms can be beautiful and dangerous at the same time.
Many types are poisonous and should not be touched at all, as it is said that even a small number of spores can have an ill or deadly effect on humans. Identifying which are toxic and which are edible can be extremely tricky.
When environmental conditions are just right, wild mushrooms can sprout up quickly. Depending on the species, they can be found in a variety of environments including beaches, open fields, inside your home, and in forested areas. There has even been a species discovered which thrives underwater.
*Important Note*
The information provided on this website is not intended to serve as an identification guide for the collection of mushrooms. Descriptions are intentionally brief and are not sufficient to positively identify whether a mushroom is inedible or edible. Identifying wild mushrooms is very difficult and consuming them could be deadly. Never collect or eat any mushroom if you are not 100% confident of its identification.
A Brief Look At Mushrooms In Folklore:
Mushrooms, with their spectrum of bewitching appearances, interesting growth patterns, and potential to both heal and harm, have long intrigued humankind around the globe. These fungi are often seen as mysterious and magical due to their rapid surfacing and decomposition, causing them to be associated with death and decay, immortality, and even as bridges between the mortal world and the otherworldly. Let’s dive into a few of the interesting legends and beliefs surrounding them.
Fairy Rings
Fairy rings, also known as elf rings and pixie rings, are naturally occurring circles (growth patterns) made up of mushrooms. Commonly found in grassy and wooded areas they are most likely to appear after damp weather in the late summer to early autumn. A great deal of lore surrounds these occurrences, with many legends suggesting that these rings are dangerous places that should be avoided. I have included several examples below:
In Celtic stories, fairy rings were often said to be caused by fairies or elves dancing in a circle. It was warned that if humans stepped into these circles they would be punished by the fairies. Legend says these punishments could include transportation to the fairy realm or being made to dance in the ring until you passed out from exhaustion.
However, not all myth surrounding the fairy rings is quite so dark. While Welsh lore doesn’t recommend that you enter them, it is said that crops grown around fairy circles, or livestock fed nearby, will flourish.
In France, these occurrences are often called witches rings. They are associated with sorcery and malevolent magic. Travelers are advised to steer clear of them as they are said to be guarded by giant toads with bulging eyes that will curse any who dares to violate the perimeter.
Also known as witch’s rings in Germanic folklore, these circles were seen as hazardous places where witches gathered to dance. Anyone tampering with these rings were believed to face dire consequences, so people avoided them. It is also said that farmers would not allow their cows to graze in their proximity, as they believed it would affect their milk.
In Tyrol, lore attributed these rings to the fiery tails of dragons. The tradition says that after the creation of the circle, nothing but toadstools could grow within it for seven years.
Ancient Mushroom Beliefs
Mesopotamian artifacts depict mushrooms as symbols of power and fertility, while ancient paintings in Algeria hint at early shamanic uses of the fungi, and hieroglyphs found in Egypt indicate that mushrooms were considered a sacred food reserved for royalty as it was believed that you might extend your life by consuming them.
Some Greek authors referred to mushrooms as the sons of gods, writing that Zeus hurled “mushroom seed” to earth on lightning bolts. This helped explain the sudden appearance of the fungi after storms. The Romans commonly called mushrooms “food of the gods”, and similarly assumed that mushrooms and thunderstorms were linked. Like the ancient Egyptians, the Romans created laws prohibiting commoners from eating mushrooms, reserving them as a high-class delicacy for nobles and allowing warriors to consume them before battle to increase strength and endurance.
In Norse mythology, the Amanita muscaria (fly agaric) mushroom was believed to connect the realms of gods and humans. In 1784 a priest named Ödmann theorizedthat berserker warriors ate this same mushroombefore going into battle, although medieval chronicles indicate that these warriors actually consumed a psychoactive mushroom commonly known as the liberty cap for this purpose.
Psychoactive mushrooms properties have been utilized by various cultures around the world during religious and shamanistic rites. Their mind-altering effects were often seen as divine and otherworldly. In Siberia it is said that the fly agaric mushroom has been used as an intoxicant during shamanistic practices. According to accounts, the shaman would consume the mushrooms to purify the toxic elements while maintaining the psychoactive properties, then others would drink their urine.
The Maya and Aztecs are also believed to have consumed hallucinogenic mushrooms during spiritualistic rituals. One species in particular called Teonanácatl, which translates to flesh of the gods, was said to be held in particularly high regard, with its uses strictly regulated by the religious authorities. Evidence of the vast importance of mushrooms, especially to the Aztec people can be seen in archaeological records of the region, where depictions of mushroom gods have been found. They believed that the god Quetzalcoatl created mushrooms from drops of his blood.
Final thoughts
I thoroughly enjoyed learning about the lore and beliefs surrounding these unique and complex organisms. There are so many intriguing folktales and legends regarding them that we haven’t even scraped the surface, but it is clear that mushrooms have played an important role in many cultures throughout time, inspiring a mix of fear, respect, wonder, and curiosity everywhere they popped up. I am sure they will continue to captivate us well into the future.
I want to thank you for your continued support. I hope that you enjoyed this brief post! Lets look forward with hope, excited about the chance for a fresh start and the endless possibilities to come. Stay safe and keep being awesome.
Want to find more facts, history, and lore regarding mushrooms?
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